Digital cameras and regular video cameras provide a depth of field that is too great for filming realistic views for a movie. All of the objects in the image appear to be on the same plane. This is an undesirable effect when filming a movie. As a result, the existing methods used for recording motion pictures involve either using very old and heavy filming equipment that will provide the necessary depth of field, or using chroma-keying techniques (blue or green back screens) in combination with photo and video editing software to replace the blue or green screen with an actual background in the post-production phase of the process.
The old filming equipment is cumbersome and difficult to use. Additionally, there may be instances where it is impossible for an entire film crew to go to an exotic location in order to film a scene with the right background. In these cases, the chroma-keying technique is used. However, this technique has many disadvantages. First of all, the actors in the scene cannot see the background that will eventually replace the blue or green screen. Therefore, a certain level of coordination is required on the part of the actors to approximate the location of different features of the background to portray a sense of realism for the final product.
Additionally, the blue or green screen must be lit in a uniform manner in order to completely disappear in post-production. Therefore, the lighting that can be provided for the actual scene is limited in its capacity to be contrasting or nuanced. Furthermore, replacing the blue or green screen with the actual background in the post-production phase is a costly and sophisticated process that requires specially skilled technicians who can work with different editing tools.
Moreover, there is a need for a new method that will replace the use of the chroma-keying technique while providing high quality motion pictures.